[Lazy_Perfectionist]

2.3 Mage Priests

Your mages, and your golems, are the strength of your nation. Almost every turn you'll be recruiting one.

It's also worth noting that every mage requires a lab and temple to recruit. Add on the cost of a fort, and this gets pricy. If you're focusing on research and have taken strong magic scales, keep an eye out for rare magical indie commanders that require only a lab. If you happen to find a library, even better.

All your mages are sacred, and priests, and the better are suffering old age. And since they're sacred, they're fairly cost efficient, too. And not a single one has precision over 8, though darkvision is a constant.

When you expect the undead, they aren't much of a threat, or at least the lowly hordes (skelly spam), since everyone can cast Banishment. Unfortunately, quite a few undead are stealthy, and won't bother to announce their presence. But you're still better off than most.

All the human mages have one considerable flaw. Ten hitpoints. Even with stoneskin cast, lucky missile fire can pop them like a balloon. Arrow catching infantry are a must, cafeful placement too. For a large crucial battle involving lots of missile fire (crossbows?), it may be worth the encumbrance penalty to equip them with any spare Black Steel Shields for a turn or two. Then move the equipment back to those who can use it better. It depends on your opponents, your luck, and your formation skills. I've won plenty of battles w/o mages w/shields. But I've gone through a few where my two mages die in one hit, after stoneskin.

Leadership scores are (L mundane - undead - magical)
Age is in format recruit age, old age.

Attendant of the Oracle (50,1) (L 10-0-0) H
Age: 33 out of 50
When you read the description of these guys, they come off as bootlickers, attending to every need of the Ancients, even going as far to wipe their asses for them. So, in the rare cases I do recruit these guys, that's what for. Leading 10 Ancient Ones into battle with a bless. But they're in no way superior to your standard independent priest, or your Earth Reader. The only real reason to recruit these is if your lab burns down.

Earth Reader (90,1) (L 40-0-5) EH
Age: 33 out of 50
It's not your best mage, by a longshot. But it is one you know won't die of natural causes. It also has an unusually high leadership. It makes a good, though fragile leader for your slow Infantry and Heavy Infantry. And it can lead a few golems. Given it can lead only five, I'd skip giving them Attentive Statues.

While one earth seems boring, these can kick up the power scales quite quickly. One earth gem allows them to cast Earth Power, turn into E2 mages. They can spend some more gems to cast E3. Earth Boots are too expensive to equip on every one, but given a lab, you can move them around to where they're needed and enable your ERs to cast all the way up to E4.

You'll recruit these when you're saving money. If you're pinching pennies for another fortress, or have several up already, you'll hire these. If your capital is surrounded by tough independents, with few spare resources, you'll hire these and spend the change on mercenaries. If, for some crazy reason, you're under a heavy death dominion (yours or the enemies'), you'll recruit these because they won't die in the winter.

Golem Crafter (200,2) (L 40-0-15) FWEEH
Age: 52 out of 48
This guy starts old. Give him a few death scales and he'll die young. Give a few growth, and who knows how long he'll last. At 0 growth-death, you usually can get your money's worth. If your expansion is growing well, your national troops are sufficent, and your budget is okay, you'll be recruiting one of these nearly every turn.

They can cast Rust Mist (WEE) and Magma Bolts (FE) without any assistance. They'll be doing that quite often. They'll be forging more than a few useful artifacts. They'll be summoning most of your golems. And leading them, too. They'll be doing most of your research. With some gem assist, they can boost into hire paths of fire and water magic (underwater only) during combat. And you'll probably be sending quite a few of them around searching sites for fire and water, unfortunately.

Oracle of the Ancients (400, 1) (L 80-30-15) DEEEHHH? Random 10% pick in water, earth, fire, or death
Age: 440 out of 400. But maximum lifespan is better, also.

Sacred. Capital only. Meaty (38 HP). Amphibious. Slow (map move 1). Level 3 priest.

At 400 gold, and no extra research, you'll buy only the ones you need. You'll use them to scry for death sites (until you find the right independent), summon and lead your undead nationals, forge dwarven hammers, and summon your best national golems. And Blighting your opponent's provinces for a mere 5 earth gems as early as Alteration four. You'll also bring them along with your armies to preach.

Did I just say you'd have a 400 gold unit preach? Yes. Once you have your national golems up and about, this is perhaps the most important thing they can do, even with a strong pretender dominion. Your level one priest can only raise dominion to 2, 4 if you have a temple there. An Oracle of the Ancients can raise dominion as high as six, eight if there's a temple, and ten if there's a temple and he's a prophet. The base chance of success for a priest is 30%, for an Oracle 90%. Add in a temple and that goes to 120%. These guys make it much easier to take AND HOLD hostile territory, since every point of dominion gives your golems +10% hitpoints.

Their random pick is too rare, but when it kicks in, it usually offers some nice benefits. Don't underestimate this. Since you can't depend upon it, I'll only offer a couple examples. Earth and Earth Boots opens up three global earth spells. Death allows you to Summon Spectre (Spectral Mage) and Mound Fiend, via a Skull Staff.